June 01, 2008

Study Shows Blogging Now 'Mainstream' Among Women

"Blogosphere" may not be a pretty name for it,
but it is a pretty attractive destination -- for women at least, and
maybe for marketers courting them, too.

According to a recent study by BlogHer and Compass Partners,
more than one-third (35%) of all women in the U.S. aged 18 to 75
participate in the blogosphere at least once a week. And that number
increases if less-frequent visits are factored in. Of those women who
are online any amount of time, 53% read blogs, 37% post comments to
blogs and 28% write or update blogs, according to the study.

Key findings
"We can now see that blogging is mainstream," said Elisa Camahort Page, co-founder and chief operating officer of BlogHer.

BlogHer is an online women's blogging community, and Compass Partners
is a brand strategy and consumer-research consultancy. The study was
based on surveys of two sample groups which together included several
thousand respondents: one composed of participants in the BlogHer
community and the other of online women selected to represent the
general population of U.S. women.

If anything, blogs do seem to capture a consistent audience.
Of the general population of online women who write blogs, 58% post
entries at least weekly -- and of those who read blogs, 80% do so at
least weekly. But among BlogHer users, 43% of those who write blogs and
89% who read blogs do so daily.

What women bloggers want
However, while blog usage among BlogHer readers and writers is much
higher, the study also found that the motivation for blogging (and
reading blogs) was similar in both surveys. Of women who said they
write blogs, answers from BlogHer respondents and the general
population were "nearly identical," saying they: most often do so for
fun (65%); to express themselves (60%); to connect with others (40%);
as a personal diary (34%); and to give advice or educate (26%). Women
read blogs for fun (46%); to get information (41%); stay up to date on
family and friends (36%); stay up to date on specific topics (34%);
connect with others (28%); and entertainment (26%).

Ms. Page, and another BlogHer co-founder, Jory Des Jardins, agreed that the last finding is significant for all media.

"I think other media have to be conscious that this is also
entertainment. It's replacing other forms of news gathering, which has
newspapers and magazines scared, but it's also [replacing] all of
entertainment, which should have TV and movie [companies] scared," Ms.
Page said.

Among both BlogHer participants and general women consumers,
there has been a noticeable shift away from traditional media. Some 24%
of the women overall watch less TV, as do 43% of BlogHer users; another
25% and 22% of the general consumers read fewer magazines and
newspapers, respectively, as do 31% in each category of BlogHer users.

Interacting with adsThe survey also asked BlogHer readers
and writers what appeals to them in online advertising. The results?
BlogHer publishers were much more likely (40%) to click on an ad vs.
BlogHer readers (29%). Still, their reasons for doing so were almost
exactly the same: to learn more about a product or service (79%
writers/81% readers), to get a free product or service (52%/48%), to
get a discount on a product or service (49%/52%) and because the brand
advertised was one they knew and trusted (46%/48%).

Demographically, BlogHer users are fairly similar to average
online women, although they skew much higher in the 25- to 41-year-old
Gen X range, with 68% of the BlogHer users in that age range vs. 42% of
overall women.

With so many similarities, the BlogHer co-founders said they
believe their user population is a harbinger of online women's habits
and preferences in general. "We are almost a beacon of what's to come,"
Ms. Des Jardins said.